Los Angeles daily herald., 1887-10-28
FRIDAY, OCTOBER es, 1851.
Journalistic Tastes and Logical
Methods.

Jsurnalistic Tastes and Logical
Methods.
People who think will not dispute
the proposition that journalism should
take rank as the noblest of all profess
sions. No other element of modern
civilization is so potent for good or evil
IS the newspaper. Andif these state
ments are indisputable, then journal
lists should rank among men as the
create st in talent, tie highest in in
tegri tyl the. most cultivated in taste.
Then these axioms being promised it
will be all the more mournful to find
this potent influence fall into the hands
Of men OF stinted intellectual qualifi-
cations, men uninfprmed and borne
of mind; as mournful will it be to see
such influence in the possession of men
lacking in the grand moral qualilica-
tion, Indispensable above all Others
to gentleman, OF truthful
ness; and no less triste
is the experience of discovering fel-
low of no refinement OF manners de-
grading so noble a profession, and
bringing disgrace upon all in the busi-
ness by his scurrilous Billingsgato OF
slang.
Sad it is to find this exalted profes-
sion too frequently exercised by just
such improperly qualified people as
we have here described. Perhaps pity
is what the case most demands. For
If O man finds himself at the head Of
a newspa per, and he has no intellect
ual furnishings, no moral regard for
the truth, no instinct or cultivation OF
q gentleman-thus handicapped in
his duties, without information as to
facts, restraint as to truthfulness, or
the manners of good breeding to
guide him in the use OF language,
what is he to do? He cannot reason,
for he has no facts at command, and
if he were furnished data, he has no
logical methods to use them. With
Billingsgatc as his vernacular, with
no sense of the enormity OF lie,
what shall he do? 'is. ".#,' .e.e
These reflections are called out by q
diatribe in the Pasadena Star, in which
the HERALD is arraigned in a string OF
senseless abuse, OF which the follow
ing are some Of the choice poesies of
rhetoric and treasury OF statements, not
one of which is true, not one of which
but is distorted by blind disregard
fm truth which would do credit to
Belial:
The Los Angeles HERALD manifested
. shamefully mean and narrow spirit
yesterday when it assumed the re-
sponsibility in leading editorial to
advise Democrats to have neither lot
nor part in the public reception to
soon be extended Governor Water
man. 1t is simply cowardly nasty in
any public journal to take such q posi-
ton toward any honorable gentleman
who was elected by the majority vote
of the people. Cardinal Gibbons is
now in Los Angeles, and this very
day public reception is to be ex-
tended him, and the HERALD, to be
consistent, should at once issue its
manifesto declaring against any but
members of his ecclesiastical faith
taking part in the ceremony. He is q
man of great heart and brain, u ma
tional character, yet il the HERALD's
position in regard to Waterman il cor
rect, he should be ignored by all not
his religious followers. The HERALD
has made a mistake, just as it did
when it rushed in fiendish glee to the
defense OF the brutal trick played by
miserable copperhead sheet in st.
Louis, at the expense of the boys who
wore the blue while stopping treason's
bullets at the rate of $l3 month.
The HERALD's objections to the re-
oeption to the Governor were not
based on the ground OF his politics.
They were stated plainly. Democrats
were asked to abstain from these
festivities on the ground of the recent
death of Mr.. Bartlett, on the ground
Of the new Governor having thus fan
done nothing TO merit anything of any
party, and on the ground that he had
made an attempt,to filch Office from
all Democrats who hold an office. Al
to the st. Louis matter, there was NJ
rush at anything on our part, thert
was no glee-fendish or angelic. W.
merely chronicled the fact as a cast
of energy and enterprise with
out further comment. Gudgeons rusf
at any bate. And there is good
deal OF rush, OF energy and enterprise
ON the part of the Star, but it does moi
seem to us very commendable from
any point of view. But as indicated
above, the Star has TO be edited, and
under present circumstances how are
you going to get the work done other
wise than as 1t is?